Rotary engine



A. J. ANDERSON.

ROTARY ENGlNE.

APPLICATION FILED Nov.24.1919.

1,406,140,] I Patented--Feb.7,1922.

z sums-sun 1. Z 7 ET MIME/V70}? WITNESSES A 5 J A NDERSON A TTORNEYS A. L ANDERSON. ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV=24.1919.

1,406, 1 40, Patented Feb. 7, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- INVENTOR AXEL. J. ANDERSON WITNESSES an IIII'I lllllu m A TTORNE Y8 TATES AXEL JULIUS ANDERSON, or BnooKLYN, NEwYoRx.

[ ROTARY ENGINE;

i Specification of Letters Patent. Feb; 7,

Application filedNovember 24, 1919. Scria1'No."340,361'.'

To (all whom it may concern:

'Be'it known that I, Axnn J ..ANDERSON, a

citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Rotary Engine, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

- This invention relates to, prime movers and has particular reference to rotary en 'gines designed. especially for use in connection with power of an expansive fluid such as steam, compressed air, or the like.

Among the objects of the invention is to provide an engine in which there is a rotatingpiston or rotor having one or more abutments formed integral therewith or rigidly described and claimed, and'while the invention'is not restricted to the exact details of constructiondisclosed or suggested herein, still for the purpose of illustrating a practical embodiment 'thereof'reference is had to the accompanying-drawings, in which like reference characters designatethe same parts in the several views, and in which-- Figure 1 is a'vertical sectional View on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section on the line 22of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional detail on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a detail of a-gear connection.- Referring now more spec1fically to the drawings I; show a stationary casing or stator comprising a base 10'l1aving an integral central partition 11 and a cylindrical wall 12 within which are formed the cylinders or cylindrical chambers 13, the outer sides of which are closed by the side plates 14. The side walls 1 1 and the partition 11 are provided with aligned central bearing holes in which is journaled the power shaft 15 which may be'of any suitable construction or length, and inthisconnection I wish to 'observe that the. number of cylinders 13 may be more or less than the number indi-. cated, butpreferably of an, even number'for thesake of best possible balancing and smooth operation of theengine;

PATENT OFFICE.

Fixed upon the shaft '15 by any suitable 7 means and located in; each of the cylinders" 13- is a rotary piston or rotor 16havingany suitable number of outwardly projecting lugs or abutments 17. The description of one'of these rotors will be understood as beingapplicable to any number of similar devices. The main portion of a rotoris'in the nature of a short hollow cylinder coaxial with the shaft 15 and having any suitable .n umber, arrangement, or design, of spokes 18. The cylindrical periphery of the rotor is spaced inward from the inner surface of the surrounding ,cylinderhwall 12, and the abutment 17 projects'outward from theperiphery of the rotor and substantially fills'such space radially but with a free clearance from the inner surface of said wall except assoon-tobe specified.

v For each cylinder '13 are provided an inlet port 19 and. an outlet or exhaust port'20,

the former being indicatedasat the top of the cylinder wall 12 while-the latter is likewise formed through the cylindrical wall, but offset rearward ofthe inlet port at an acute angle. The upper portion 21 of. the cylinder. wall constitutes an enlargement which is suitably recessed at 22 to accommodate amovable abutment 23whicl1 is adapted to oscillate around an axis 24 so as to oc- 'cupy either a position as shown in full lines in Fig. 11 substantially bridging the annular space between the rotor andthe cylinder wall at the rear of the abutment17, or to occupy a nested position in therecess 22 at the instant that the abutment 17 is passing the movable abutment. The outer or upper surfaceof the movable abutment is substantially "coextensive with the recess 22 whereby thereis always assured a cushion of air or V entrapped steam which will prevent poundingor clicking of the movable abutment againstthewall above it as a result of the impact of the abutment 17 against the under surface of the movable abutment in practice. It will be note'dthat; the movable abutment is located between the, inlet andexhaust ports and is movable from normal position outward toward the inlet' port which it is intended to substantially seal when in lifted position. 1

25 indicates a valve easing into and through which the steam or other motive fluid is adapted to be admitted as from a pipe connection 26,.the flow of the fluid beingcontrolled by means of a rotary valve 27 or its equivalent, mounted in said casing 25.

"Any suitable means may be provided to control the time of operation'of the movable valve 27 with respect to the position and operation of the rotor .abutment. As indi cated the valve is designed to rotate in a direction opposite to thatof the rotor, and the valve begins to admit'motive fluid through the port 19 just as the abutment '17 ispassing beneath the movable abutment so that the moment the abutment 17 releases the movable abutment the fluid pressure acting against the upper surface of the abutment 23 insures the prompt return thereof to normal position whereby the motive fluid is'trapped inthe space between the two abutments and must therefore act by virtue of its expansive force to drive the abutment 17 on its journey around the annular space between the rotor and the cylinder wall of the stator. The front and rear surfaces 28 and 29 of the fixed abutment 17 are so shaped as to provide co-operative action with the movable abutment as smoothly and gradually as possible, taking into account the'speed of rotation of the machine. The

rear surface 29 however is somewhat more abrupt than the front surface, but terminates in .a rear end approximately tangential to the cylindrical surface of the rotor; Very soon after the abutment 17 passes the movable abutment th'e valve 27 will have cut off the inlet and thereby themotive fluid admitted into the space between the two abutments is thoroughly trapped and can only exert its force by expansion which it does until the .abutment 17 passes the exhaust port 20 at which time the motive fluid exhausts to any desired place. Any suitable means may be provided to vary the time of admission of motive fluid with respect to the position and action of the rotor.

As indicated the valves 27 are connected to or formed as parts of the same shaft journaled in the valve casings 25 and the upward extensions 31 of the cylinder walls 14. The shaft 30 is shown as arranged directly above and parallel to the main shaft 15. At

one-end f the shaft 30 is arranged a beveled gear 32 which meshes with a similar gear 33 secured to a vertical shaft 34 journaled n bearings 35 fixed upon one of the walls 14;

' Connection is had between the shaft 34 and the main shaft 1 15 by beveled gears 36 and 37 secured to said shafts respectively. These 'gearsare all shown as miter gears and of the samesize so that the valves are rotated 1 to 1 with the main shaft. Any one of these four gears may be connected adj ustably upon its shaft as for example through a toothed narrow space between the point of the abut mentand'the surface of the wall 12. Spring means 41 acts upon the tongue 40 tending to keep the same moved outward and forward so as to hug firmly against the surface of the wall 12. The tongue however is pivoted at its forward portion so thatthe engaging edge portion thereof drags at the rear of the pivot. As a result of the fluid pressure between the abutments the tongue is forced forward, but it can never interfere in" any manner with the proper forward rotation of the rotor. A similar tongue 42 is pivoted for oscillation in the'active free end portion of the movable abutment 23 and is urged normally rearward by spring means 43; The free end of this tongue is in advance of the pivotal support thereof so that the for- .ward action of the rotor will not be interfered with at any time andyet the pressure of the fluid between the abutments will tend to keep the tongue 42 forcedrearward into tight engagement with the rotor, to prevent leakage of the motive fluid rearward past the same. The movable abutment 23 may be limited in its'rearward or inward movement by any suitable means to prevent wedging or jamming due to the'expansion of the motive fluid acting'upon the upper surface thereof. To this'end I provide a'pair of stops 44 in the form of plates -mounted loosely'in recesses 45 in one of the-side alls 14 and the partition 11 and'these stop plates 44 are adapted to nest within the recesses 45 but are adapted to be projected therefrom at their forward ends by means of springs 46 while the rear ends of the plates-arehung loosely upon fasteners 47. 'These stops are so located that the rear side of the movable abutment 23 will impinge against the free ends thereof and so constitute positive stop meansto limit the movement of the abut ment toward the cylindrical portion of the rotor. When however the abutment-17in)- 1 proaches the movable abutment thestops 44 will be pushed into the recesses 45 so asto offer no obstruction or resistance to the ro-. tation of the rotor. a

With a plurality of rotors mounted upon the same shaft 15 which is the preferred arrangement the abutment portions ofthe' rotors are preferably offset or staggered not only for the sake of better counterbalancing effect of the engine but also so that at least one of the rotors will always be effective under the maximum expansive force of the power medium to maintain or tend to maintain the engine in steady movement. It is obvious furthermore that While I show but one inlet port and one exhaust port for each cylinder these parts may be duplicated if desired with a corresponding timing of the inlet valve.

I claim:

In a rotary engine, the combination of a rotor having an abutment, a cylinder having a stationary wall concentric with the.

rotor and provided with an inlet and an exhaust port spaced circumferentially from each'other at an acute angle, thewall being recessed at the inlet point, a pivoted abutment mounted in the recess and adapted to nest in the recess or to swing outward therefrom under the force of the admitted fluid, a pivoted tongue carried in the free edge of I the abutment, the walls of the cylinder ad 'move the stops and the pivoted abutment into their respective recesses as it passes the same. 7 v AXEL JULIUS ANDERSON. 

